


What's in a Name?

by Lauralis_Ember



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Anxiety, F/M, Reader-Insert, but very specific reader-insert, david cares about his co-counselors, reader is pretty much a character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-05 02:43:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12181347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lauralis_Ember/pseuds/Lauralis_Ember
Summary: A look at just how much the name of someone who hurt you can come back to haunt you.





	What's in a Name?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! This is my first story on this website. This was more-or-less emotional, late-night writing I did to sort out some of the things I've been dealing with for a while. I might try my hand at an actual, honest-to-goodness fic at some point later. I don't really know why I felt like sharing this on some strange, public website with a bunch of, well--strangers--but here goes nothing! (I guess) Maybe I'll even continue it??? Who knows. Also I high-key wanted to see more David x Reader fics so I figured I should write my own, right? :,D

You pull up to the camp, staring at the rickety, faded sign that hung above the mess hall. Regardless of how run-down the place looks, you can’t help but feel a sense of comfort. Getting away from everything is exactly what you needed.  
You look out of your car door at the sea of campers waiting for you. Two other counselors wait by the mess hall. The tall, lanky man with reddish hair sticks out to you the most, and you can’t help but think to yourself _damn, he’s kind of cute._

You face the steering wheel. _Okay, exhale. Breath in, Breath out. You can do this._

Slowly, you step out of the car.

“Hi, I’m David!” The happy-go-lucky redhead says. Your throat tightens.

“David?”

“Yep! And don’t you forget it!” 

He’s grinning. And you should be too, right? You should be excited to be here, working as a camp counselor after all that you’ve been through. You should be glad to get away.  
But it follows you everywhere.

You didn’t notice that he’d been staring at you for the past thirty seconds, ready for a handshake. Gulping down your anxiety, you reach out to shake his. 

“I’m Y/N.” you say, hoping it sounds more confident than you feel. His smile falters for a second—good god, did he see it?—but then it’s back. And then he’s going around introducing campers, and you’re following him, and it doesn’t matter that you’re not 100% there anymore because he’s enthusiastic enough for the both of you and it masks your distance. 

You meet the kids but you barely remember. All you can think of is the name. All you can see is the name, your hands fidgeting, the memories coming back in waves. And then—

We’re sitting on his bed. You’re watching your hands fidget, feeling fingernails pierce your skin as you do everything to avoid eye contact with him. 

He’s staring at you. You don’t remember how you got here but you can feel his eyes. He is much more relaxed, and you’re sure his face shows concern but you don’t dare look up into those brilliant green eyes.  
There is silence. You feel him shift, closer to you but not making contact. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” he asks. 

The question surprises you. A silent sigh escapes your lips as you muster up a smile, 

“Yeah, sure. Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” you grin, but David’s concern doesn’t change. He can see right through you. 

“Okay.” He paused. You go back to looking at your hands.

“It’s just that… you seem really tense since you got here. Well, since you met me, actually,” he looks away sheepishly. 

God dammit, you scared him. You scared him and now he hates you and now you have to explain that you don’t hate him, you just hate—

“Oh my god, it’s not you. I promise. It’s just, well…”

Deep breaths. You can’t believe you’re admitting this to a stranger.

“Some things happened to me over the summer. I came here to get away, kind of to forget and… you’re just a constant reminder that I won’t ever get a break.”

You can feel the hurt in David’s heart before you finish speaking. He gets up. 

“Oh, Y/N, I’m very sorry to hear that. If you need to be alone, I can—”

“Don’t! Please—” you reach out and grab his arm, surprising yourself as you do. He turns and your eyes meet. 

“It’s just… can I explain?” He smiles, soft and weak, but in an understanding way. He sits, and you take a deep breath. 

“Will you promise not to think I’m stupid?” you ask. His voice softens. 

“I would never.”

…  
_Breath._

“For the past year, I had a friend. He told me all sorts of things—how I was family, how we were all connected, and how the world depended on all of us. He told me stories… stories that might seem crazy or silly but they were stories I believed. I was new to the area, you see, and I didn’t have any friends. Just starting college, you know??”

You can feel the quaver in your voice. The tightness is returning. 

David slowly rests his hand on your upper back. You flinch, a bit of a reflex, but then you relax, reminding yourself that he is a different person. 

“The stories got wilder. So crazy that I wouldn’t have believed them under any other circumstances but, we were family, you know? He would never lie. How could he lie about something that hurt us so much?”  
Your voice cracks. David is silent, listening. 

“I was… I was part of a cult.”

Silence. You stare at the ground in front of you. _God, how could you reveal your deepest secret to someone you just met? There must be something wrong with--Oh god, he’s not saying anything--_

“I didn’t even realize it at first,” you say, rambling. “I didn’t notice his manipulation, how he was purposefully isolating us from everyone we knew, how he was always the protagonist of his own story. I made excuses for his violent words, his dangerous thoughts.”

By now you were crying.

“I wasted a year of my life on someone else’s ridiculous, self-serving story. I gave up my own dreams and passions for his lies. And when I found out—when I caught him in his own lie—he denied it, turned everyone in our “family” against me.”

David comes in closer, wrapping his arm around your shoulder. His face is close to yours. You force yourself to meet his gaze. 

“I lost everyone I knew. I lost my family, I lost my friends—I lost the people I thought cared about me.”

He is staring into your glassy eyes. 

“I’m sorry that happened to you. That’s… that’s awful,” he says. 

You nod, eyes averted once more. 

“I came here to get away. But it seems like I can’t,” you say. 

David frowns. 

“Well, that’s not entirely true, is it? You’ve got me, and the campers, and Gwen, and by gosh this place is just so busy all I’m sure you’ll have all the time you need to heal from such a traumatic experience.” 

You shake your head. 

“You don’t get it, do you?”

A sigh escapes your lips. He seems confused—of course he is, why wouldn’t he be—and you find yourself talking once more. 

“His name was David. The person who manipulated me for an entire year… was David.”


End file.
